As 2016 finally comes to an end, we can all let out a collective sigh of relief. This year we’ve seen heartbreaking scenes – from the utter devastation of the city of Aleppo, to the millions of refugees and displaced people stranded without a home, to the distraught faces of children in Yemen, their lives …
Author Archives: Amnesty International
Thought 2016 wasn’t worth celebrating?
While 2016 had more than its fair share of setbacks, thanks to you, we’ve found a lot to be positive about. This year, you helped us free more than 650 people from unfair imprisonment. We helped change laws in 40 countries. We helped convict war criminals. We helped teens stay out of adult prisons and we saw …
And that’s a rap
Thanks to everyone who campaigned and collected letters in your community for Write for Rights 2016. We have now closed off the offline component of the campaign and are busy collating the many thousand of letters you collected so we can deliver them to the right people. If you haven’t already, please make sure to …
‘I left Syria thinking that I would return in two weeks. That was four years ago’
On the morning that Zain Alabdin Ali, a young 23-year-old Syrian, left the makeshift house he shared with his parents and four brothers and sisters in a small town near his native Aleppo, he thought that the adventure would be nothing more than a temporary escape. It was 2012, and only a few weeks earlier …
Continue reading “‘I left Syria thinking that I would return in two weeks. That was four years ago’”
Myanmar: Security forces target Rohingya
The Myanmar security forces are responsible for unlawful killings, multiple rapes and the burning down of houses and entire villages in a campaign of violence against Rohingya people that may amount to crimes against humanity, Amnesty International reveals in a new report. Read the report Based on extensive interviews with Rohingyas in both Myanmar and …
Philippines: Duterte’s claims encourage mass killings
Responding to claims made by Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte that he “personally” killed suspected criminals while serving as mayor of the city of Davao, Rafendi Djamin, Amnesty International’s Director for South East Asia and the Pacific, said: “President Duterte’s claim that he has personally killed suspected criminals takes the meaning of ‘state-sanctioned’ violence to a …
Continue reading “Philippines: Duterte’s claims encourage mass killings”
EU: Asylum-seekers must be moved from appalling conditions
With the EU-Turkey deal faltering and more than 16,000 refugees languishing in appalling conditions on the Greek islands, Amnesty International is calling on EU Heads of State and Government to commit to concrete action to save lives and restore dignity as they meet in Brussels this week. The organisation is proposing six concrete steps, beginning …
Continue reading “EU: Asylum-seekers must be moved from appalling conditions”
Syria: Killings in Aleppo point to war crimes
Shocking reports from the UN that scores of civilians have been extrajudicially executed by advancing Syrian government forces in eastern Aleppo point to apparent war crimes, said Amnesty International. The organization is making an urgent plea for all parties to the conflict to protect the civilian population. The UN human rights office said it had …
Continue reading “Syria: Killings in Aleppo point to war crimes”
Egypt: Bring to justice those behind church attack
Those responsible for the reprehensible bombing at a Coptic Christian church on Sunday in Cairo should be brought to justice in fair trials without recourse to the death penalty. At least 25 people were killed and many more injured in the bombing, which took place during Sunday worship at St Peter’s Coptic Orthodox Church, according …
Continue reading “Egypt: Bring to justice those behind church attack”
Sri Lanka: Much remains to be done on torture
The Sri Lankan authorities must take decisive action to stop torture and other ill-treatment, investigate complaints, and hold perpetrators accountable, Amnesty International said following the publication of the concluding observations by the UN Committee against Torture on Sri Lanka. “If the Sri Lankan authorities are serious about breaking with the harrowing legacy of the country’s …
Continue reading “Sri Lanka: Much remains to be done on torture”